Jet Aviation Supports Historic Event for Mission Aviation Fellowship of Switzerland

Jet Aviation has recently supported the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) of Switzerland in bringing one of its decommissioned hydroplanes – a Cessna 185 – to exhibit at the Transport Museum in Lucerne, Switzerland. The historic MAF aircraft was assembled and installed pro bono by 10 apprentices working at Jet Aviation’s MRO and Completions Center in Basel. It is now on display as part of the museum’s Swiss Flight II exhibition, which opened on April 16, 2019.

Jet apprentices first worked with MAF personnel at the company’s Maintenance and Completions facility in Basel to help assemble and restore the aircraft, readying it for display as part of the Swiss Flight II (Die Schweiz fliegt weiter) exhibition at the Transport Museum. The apprentices then transported the disassembled aircraft to the museum, where they then re-assembled and installed the aircraft on the museum’s floating platform.

The MAF’s Cessna 185 flew for 48 years, logging more than 23,000 hours for humanitarian missions in hard-to-reach areas of Borneo — today’s Kalimantan in Indonesia. It was disassembled and shipped to Europe in a container, arriving in Basel in early March.

As an international, humanitarian, relief and development organization, the MAF employs its aircraft and crews to provide help such as medical care and disaster relief to people living in some of the most remote places around the world. 128 MAF aircraft are stationed across 26 countries to assist people in need. MAF Switzerland belongs to the leadership consortium of 16 member countries under the International non-profit organization. There are currently 23 pilots and aircraft mechanics from Switzerland who work for the MAF on an international basis.